Independent participatory media for Iran

Only a week after the first group of Iranian tourists flew to Egypt, the country’s tourism minister announced that such trips will be suspended until June.

The Egyptian official news agency reports that Hesham Zazou said on Sunday that officials will use this time to evaluate and review the experience of the Iranian tourists who came to Egypt.

Egyptian media also report that the minister is planning to discuss the issue with groups that have shown opposition to the arrival of Iranian tourists in Egypt.

Following the new rapprochement efforts between Iran and Egypt, a group of tourists from Iran arrived last week, the first to do so in more than 30 years, with certain restrictions on where they could visit. The event triggered protests by an Islamist Salafi group comprised of Sunni Muslims, who see Iranians as a threat because they are Shias.

The protesters demonstrated in front of the Iranian consulate in Egypt and had to be dispersed by police.